«Teaching people about solar technology should be as simple as a game»

How Asia 21 young leader Govinda Upadhyay uses solar lamps to educate children on renewable energy

November 30th, 2016

This fall Govinda Upadhyay, founder and CEO of LEDsafari, was selected as the Swiss representative for Asia Society’s Young Leaders Initiative Asia 21. In December the annual three-day summit will take place in Seoul and bring together a group of 30 young leaders Fellows, all under the age of 40. The Summit aims to prepare tomorrow’s leaders for the challenges and responsibilities of global citizenship and to build networks of trust across geographic boundaries. Before his trip to Korea, we had a chance to chat with Govinda and learn more about his company and vision. Read the full interview on Medium.

Asia Society Switzerland: Govinda, what does your company do?
My company LEDsafari aims is to teach clean energy & sustainable innovation through a unique science & design training centered on creating a solar LED lamp using recycled materials.
We provide you with a simple kit, explain you how to set it up and let you design your own lamp, which you can later use. Our customers are schools in Europe and development projects in India and Africa.

How is LEDSafari different?
We could produce a solar lamp in China and sell in Africa or India. This is a very easy process. But once lamp breaks, it is thrown away. At LEDsafari we teach people how to make a product. All fabrication happens at a local level unlike with an industrial product. We train people and make sure that the lamps are functional. This is more expensive but in the long run more sustainable. Once you learn how to make a lamp, then you can keep making and maintaining it.

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